Inmate's widow sues Onondaga County over 2010 jail death

The widow of an inmate who died at the Onondaga County Justice Center jail two years ago claims sheriff's deputies caused his death by restraining him facedown as he was being booked.

Tashara Pinet sued the county and the sheriff’s office in federal court over the Aug. 6, 2010, death of her husband, Raul Pinet Jr. He died shortly after deputies handcuffed him and restrained him facedown on the floor of a cell then failed to properly observe him, the lawsuit said.

The county medical examiner listed Pinet’s death as a homicide caused by cocaine-induced excited delirium syndrome. A brain disorder, cocaine and police restraint were all at play in his death, Dr. Robert Stoppacher said in 2010.

A coalition of community groups held a news conference today, questioning why a state prison watchdog agency still has not released its findings, nearly 18 months after Pinet’s death.

The state Commission of Correction expects its findings to become public by the end of April, a spokeswoman said.

In the 2009 death of inmate Chuniece Patterson at the Justice Center, the commission took just six months before releasing its report.

Leaders of United as One, a civil rights coalition formed in response to Pinet’s death, questioned the commission’s reason for taking so long.

“Today, United as One coalition leaders gather to ask why,” Barrie Gewanter, director of the local chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said at the news conference. She contends the sheriff’s office did not follow its own protocols for using forcible restraint on an inmate. She also questioned whether the jail had procedures in place for handling inmates in a state of drug-induced excited delirium.

Sheriff Kevin Walsh said he could not comment on the case because it’s the subject of a lawsuit. He said he has seen a draft of the commission’s report, but would not comment on it. In 2010, Walsh said the amount of force his deputies used to restrain Pinet was justified because the inmate was struggling so violently.

The commission’s investigation into Pinet’s death has taken so long because it didn’t start until June 2011, nearly a year after Pinet’s death, said agency spokeswoman Janine Kava. The commission has a policy of delaying the start of an investigation until after any federal investigation or grand jury investigation is completed, Kava said.

Shortly after Pinet’s death, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said his office would investigate the deaths of both Pinet and Patterson. Fitzpatrick has not publicly reported on the outcome of those investigation, or said whether they’re continuing.

He did not respond to a request for an interview today.

Relatives of Pinet and Patterson said they have not heard from the district attorney’s office about the investigation.

Having a public accounting from the district attorney would serve to increase the public’s trust in law enforcement’s ability to police itself, Gewanter said.

“It’s beholden on those entities to be transparent about their findings,” she said. “If the DA has conducted an investigation of Chuniece Patterson or Raul Pinet’s death, why hasn’t he come out with the results of that investigation?”

Pinet's death certificate says he died from sudden cardiac arrest caused by cocaine-induced excited delirium syndrome. It lists "prone restraint" as a significant condition contributing to death but not related to the cardiac arrest.

Tashara Pinet’s lawyer, Brian Dratch of New York City, said he expects to get records from Onondaga County related to the death by next month.